Irvine is a planned city within Orange County, on the southern coast of California. It is known to be a well-to-do, mostly white, upper middle class neighborhood. And now it has become the first large city with a population of 100,000 or more to elect a Korean-American mayor, Sukhee Kang.

The city of Irvine has a population of just over 200,000, of which a third is of Asian ethnicity, with Korean, Indian and Vietnamese cultural communities. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported that Irvine had the lowest incidence of violent crime out of cities with more than 100,000 people. It is home to a number of universities and campuses of universities, most notably the University of California, Irvine.

New Mayor Sukhee Kang was born in Korea. At the age of 24, after graduating from prestigious Korea University, he emigrated to the United States. He began working in an electrical goods store as a salesman, and developed a reputation for excellent customer service. Over the years his hard work was recognized, and he climbed the corporate ladder.

He entered politics in the wake of the 1992 Los Angeles Riots, hoping to make a difference in his local community. First he became involved in various Korean-American organizations. Then in 2004 Kang visited many hundreds of households on foot while campaigning for a seat on the city council. He was elected, and then re-elected in 2006. In 2008 he decided to run for mayor of the city, and he won with 52 percent of the vote.

Kang was elected the first non-white mayor of Irvine in November, 2008 and was invested in his post in December. His leadership style has been described on the City of Irvine's website as "inclusive and engaging, born from his long years of working in customer service and his strong relationships with many and varied public and private stakeholders throughout Irvine, as well as his liking for getting out there and meeting the voters to hear what they want. His success story in business and politics epitomizes the American dream.

But Sukhee Kang has not forgotten his Korean roots. In a recent interview with Korean magazine Monthly Joongang, Kang said, "Although it's been 31 years since I left Korea, a third of the phone calls I received from 5 a.m. until 12 midnight the day after election day on Nov. 4, 2008 were from Korea. I was really grateful to the Korean media for covering my election as a big story. I once again felt the warm kindred spirit."

A huge public park is to be built in Irvine, twice the size of New York City's Central Park. In it there will be a multicultural center, to celebrate the diverse backgrounds of Irvine's residents. Kang has high hopes for the Korean section. Speaking to Korea's KBS television, he said, "I have lived in the United States for 31 years, but I am always a Korean. That's why if such a cultural center is set up here, [¡¦] it is a special opportunity to tell the world about Korea."

By Jacco Zwetsloot